Falling Leaves
by Took-Baggins
Summary: Sometimes it's easy to get distracted from your chores. ChrnoxRosette.
1. Raking

A/N Yeah, I know this chapter is kind of short, but the next one makes up for it. Anyway, please review if you have the time, I love feedback! I hope everyone enjoys it!

Disclaimer: this should be common knowledge by now...i do have a copy of the manga, and the soundtracks but that's it.

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The leaves were falling. The ground was covered with them: drifts of red and gold scattered across the courtyards of the Magdalan Order. Azmaria leaned back against the steps, the rake she had carried lying useless at her side. She had volunteered them for the raking an hour before, and the three of them had trekked out into the cold air laden with rakes and bags. The job didn't take long, but once the leaves had been gathered into their piles, well...no job can end quickly with Rosette involved. Now she was terrorizing their neat little heaps, jumping in and out of them like an eight year old and dragging her partner into each one and every one.

Azmaria couldn't help smiling when she saw her playing like that. The young exorcist was so much brighter when she wasn't worrying about something. Poor Chrno never complained. She pushed him and jumped on him and tugged at his braid...he just grins, laughing with her. He knew she needed all the happiness she could get.

The small apprentice tried sometimes to let her friends do things like this by themselves, feeling that they didn't need her intruding on their time together. It was hard for them to be alone in a place like the monastery. So many people there didn't like Chrno and were uneasy around him. Some days she didn't even see him, because he tried so hard to stay out of everyone's way. These times, when no one else was nearby, they could really enjoy themselves.

A giggle escaped Azmaria as her two friends sent a fresh bunch of leaves flying. Every so often they would stop, coming to rest heaped together in a pile of leaves. For several moments the air fell quiet, and she found herself wondering if they were talking. After a while she saw Rosette reach over, pulling at his ear and darting away playfully. The demon gave chase and their game started all over again. They had been going for a good half an hour, their chore forgotten as they scattered leaves all over the place.

'_I wonder if they used to play like this before?' _Azmaria wondered to herself. She knew about the orphanage, and that Rosette had met Chrno when she was young...maybe playing with each other reminded them of that. Rosette had changed, she was sure of that, but then again so had the demon. She'd been told he was much happier now than he had ever been then, despite the circumstances.

She smiled again as Rosette tackled her friend into a new pile of leaves, her arms pinned around his middle. She was probably reading too much into it, maybe they just wanted to play. Several minutes passed in silence and Azmaria climbed to her feet. From where she stood on the steps she had a better view of the pair. They lay in the leaves just the way they had landed: Rosette's arms wrapped around Chrno's waist. He was on the bottom, one arm tucked behind his head, the other wrapped around the girl's shoulders. The apprentice smiled to herself, retrieving her rake and skipping away to return indoors.

She could tell they weren't going to get up for a while.


	2. In the Leaves

A/N Just a warning: this chapter is nothing but an unnecessary amount of fluff (you guys know you love it). I'm not sure that I can take this fic any further right now (I had only intended it to be the two chapters) but I'm open to suggestions, so mention them in your review if you have any!

Oh, and the "T" rating is because I don't usually write stuff that's so...touchy. There's a lot of that. I figured I should use "T" just to be safe. Happy reading everyone!

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Rosette was comfortable. She lay partially on top of her best friend, her head resting against his narrow chest. They had tumbled into this pile of leaves some time ago, and neither had moved since. She didn't want to. Lying there like that was so comfortable, and he felt so wonderfully warm in the cold autumn air, that a calm fell over her that she had not known in a very long time. She nuzzled her face into the front of Chrno's coat, hiding a small smile. Why hadn't they done this before? It was nice.

The truth was that they had never overcome the awkwardness that this sort of thing presented. The current situation had sort of happened on its own. She tightened her hold on him, happily curling herself against him. He had a good smell, it was familiar to her though she couldn't quite place it and her smile widened as she breathed it in from his coat. Vaguely she felt his arm move against her back as his fingers stroked the ends of her hair. The movement was hesitant, and Rosette rolled her shoulders a little, bumping him so that his hand pushed farther into her hair. His fingers gladly burrowed into the golden strands. Shifting her head, she pressed her ear to his chest, the sound of his heart loud in her ear.

It was beating so quickly...

His chest rose beneath her, his voice emerging from somewhere in his chest. "Rosette?" she glanced up to see he was looking down at her, a faint, contented smile resting upon his lips. His cheeks were a faint pink and she wondered whether it was from running around so much or if he was blushing. He didn't say anything for a moment, instead seeming to stare through her as though he were spacing out. Rosette stared back at him until he shook himself out of it.

"What was it?"

"Just...come here." she pulled away from his warmth, moving to curl up against his side so that her cheek rested against his shoulder. Chrno's bangs brushed lightly against her nose as he moved his head closer to hers. She smiled again. His hair had always been one of her favorite features. Letting her fingers wander across his neck, she twisted the violet strands around her fingers. For a moment she almost thought that she'd felt his arms tighten around her as a shiver ran through the demon...a small, mischievous grin erupted onto the girl's face. Leaving his hair, she gently trailed a finger across his neck again. Chrno squirmed a little and gave an involuntary snort.

"Knock it off." he warned, but she ignored him, using more of her fingers to send her friend into a fit of laughter. She hadn't known he was ticklish there, had never dared touch him enough to find out. Now that she had a chance, she was merciless in her glee over the demon writhing beneath her.

"Ahaha...Rose-Rosette! Please-hee-heese..." he couldn't get the words to come out right because of his laughter. Weakly he tried to push her hand away, but he couldn't focus enough on what he was doing. Rosette batted his hands out of her way easily. She grabbed hold of his right arm, stretching it away from his body and holding it firmly to the ground by the wrist. Somehow she managed to trap his other arm between them, pinning it to his chest with her body. Chrno cried out, stirring up leaves as he kicked about, trying to wriggle away from her.

It was a long while before Rosette finally relented. She pulled her fingers away from his neck, grinning down at the gasping form beneath her. The demon's face was red, tears still creeping their way from the corners of his eyes. Rosette grinned fondly at her partner, brushing a bit of leaf out of his violet hair.

"You're...terrible..." he panted, having nearly caught his breath. The girl's grin only widened.

"Yeah, well, you deserved it."

"No I didn't." he pouted up at her, feeling a new heat rise to his face. Rosette hadn't noticed it, though, and she began to toy with his eartip, running the tip of her finger gently over the point. It was such a faint touch he wondered vaguely if she were teasing him. Chrno shivered against her, feeling her touch stroke along the tip of his ear, brushing across his temple and back again. He let his eyes close, his head falling back to rest among the leaves. He had never told her, but he absolutely loved it when she did that. It was one of those things that could reduce him to nothing if she went at it long enough. Rosette felt his body relax at her touch, and she stifled a giggle at the strange expression settling over his face. She knew what he was capable of, but sometimes he seemed just about as fierce as a kitten. It was only with her, and sometimes Azmaria, that he truly let his guard down and was perfectly at ease.

Loosing his wrist (she had nearly forgotten she was holding it), she brought her arm back to her, propping her head on her hand. She was very close to his face...even in this smaller form he was handsome, she noticed, letting her eyes wander over the demon's face. In the guise of a child he still had a mature feel to him, his true form ever present in the features of his face. He had so many different sides to him, Rosette wondered if she'd ever know them all...

Chrno had grown so still, for a moment she thought that maybe he had dozed off. She felt herself smile, once more bringing her finger across his temple and pulling it gently across his jaw. Feeling the change, the demon's eyes slid open, his scarlet orbs watching her through his long lashes.

Just as she had, he couldn't help noticing just how close they were. He could feel the light brush of air that was her breath touch upon his face. _So small a distance is a thing easily remedied._ He thought, hesitating as he contemplated the face above his own. She was staring down at him, blue eyes half closed, and a smile settled across her face. Her fingers were still moving against his skin.

_She doesn't know what she does to me..._he realized, blinking up at her. The thought seemed silly as soon as it formed in his mind. Of course she wouldn't know...they'd never had that sort of relationship. It may not have even occurred to her that he, just like humans, had those sort of feelings at all. It could have been awkward, if he had not had such self control, the way she lay pressed against him, so much within his reach, his arm still pinned between their chests...

If he let her, she could very easily drive him mad.

Rosette only stared at him, lost in her own thoughts. Chrno stared back at her, wondering whether she could feel his heart fluttering in his chest. Maybe they _could_ have a relationship like that...if she didn't kill him for what he was thinking of doing. He probably wouldn't have another chance as perfect as this one, he needed to do it then, if he was going to at all.

Chrno let his eyes close, not entirely sure that he wanted to see her reaction as he closed the incredibly huge three inches between them and kissed her.

Rosette's startled gasp left her wide open. The demon seized upon the opportunity, his mouth melding against hers. It wasn't a deep kiss, as much as he wanted it to be, but it was much sweeter than he had hoped as he moved against the softness of her mouth. Once she had managed to get over her shock, Rosette responded to him eagerly, her tongue snaking out to meet his own.

Several breathless moments later, Chrno pulled away from her, a blush rising in his face. A nervous chuckle escaped him as he turned his head to avoid looking at her.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just..." he fell silent, looking thoughtful. When he spoke again, his voice was soft, barely more than a whisper. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that." Rosette sighed, cupping a hand to his cheek and turning his face back to her.

"Chrno...you don't know how long I've _wanted_ you to do that."

"Yeah?" she nodded and the demon smiled up at her, such a joy in his face it seemed he couldn't think of anything in the world better than that. 'I love you, Rosette." he said, and all hesitation was gone. It came out softly, but the girl could feel how much he meant it.

"You'd better, after all that." she brought her face close to his again, brushing her lips softly against his. She kissed him gently and her voice dropped to a whisper "But even if you didn't...I'd love you anyway."

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A/N Sorry, it sort of cuts off, doesn't it? I just couldn't resist this, they're much too cute to pass up!


	3. Azmaria's Distraction

A/N Here it is! The last chapter for now (I may come back to this...). It's taken me so long to put it up because I was torn over whether it was really necessary. In the end, I decided it was a cute little add-on. If anyone feels that it takes away from the story, though, please tell me. Thanks for reading, everybody! Have fun!

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Ewan Remington stiffened, staring out through the window of Sister Kate's office. Teacups were clinking faintly against each other as little Azmaria poured a cup for her superiors. It was taking some time; she moved very slowly to avoid spilling anything. Kate was hovering beside her, poised to spring into action should something be dropped. It was good that she was distracted.

The large window behind her desk afforded a generous view of the ground, which included the trees of the courtyard. Fortunately, he happened to be the one behind the desk at the moment, very well aware of what was happening outside. It came as no surprise to him, but Kate would be mortified. Glancing behind him, he moved quickly, throwing himself into the nun's chair and trying his best to appear innocent. If she couldn't sit in her chair, there would be no reason for her to come around the desk.

The other two in the room hadn't noticed his movement, so when Kate turned back to her desk, tea in hand, she was a bit annoyed to find her place taken.

"...Ewan?" she blinked at him, and the reverend grinned. "What are you doing in my chair? And why on earth are you making such a face?"

"I'm...sitting. Just, you know, thought I'd take a load off."

"Ewan, I'm not really in the mood for your games. Already today we've had two accidents in the kitchen and one of the novices fell down a flight of stairs...it's been quite a day." she frowned at the grinning priest when he didn't reply and resigned herself to one of the small couches on the other side of the room.

"Why, thank you, Sister, how very considerate." his grin widened. Azmaria sidled up to him as the Sister launched into a long list of things they needed to go over. The small girl carefully set a cup of tea before the priest and he nodded thankfully. Smiling, she glanced out the window into the weak fall light.

She froze.

A faint blush crept to her cheeks, her eyes flickering to the priest. Seeming to be considering something to herself, Azmaria slowly reached out to take the teacup back into her hands. For a moment she stared at it, almost as if she were bracing herself.

"Azmaria, what are you-" Ewan's question was cut off as Azmaria suddenly hurled the cup to the floor. Over the tinkling of broken china, Kate's voice thundered at them. Azmaria ignored her, staring at the mess scattered over the hardwood floor.

"Young lady, what do you think you're doing?" the nun fumed, sounding a little startled.

"I'm...I'm sorry, I don't...oh my..." the small girl suddenly fled the room, bursting into forced tears as Sister Kate hurried after her. Ewan chuckled, once again turning to glance out the window.

Chrno and Rosette had disappeared, thankfully.

Azmaria's attempt at a distraction had been rough and not entirely necessary. All the same, he would have to tell them to thank her for it later.


End file.
